Panalpina donates UNICEF relief flight to Africa for the fifth time

Panalpina once again assisted UNICEF by flying relief aid to Africa, this time to help children suffering in South Sudan. The country’s humanitarian crisis is a culmination of years of civil war compounded by famine and disease. A Panalpina chartered cargo aircraft landed in the early hours of Saturday morning in neighboring Uganda, carrying nearly 80 tons of supplies including emergency shelters, water treatment equipment and medical kits. The supplies are now being trucked to their final destination.

Panalpina’s Charter Network arranged the flight in support of the respected UN organization. The consignment of relief aid left Belgium on Friday afternoon and items such as tents, water pumps, sterilization kits and medication to fight infectious diseases, supplied by UNICEF (the United Nations International Children’s Fund), are now headed for families in dire need of help.

“The children of South Sudan are suffering greatly because of over four years of conflict,” says Elsbeth Mueller, Executive Director of the Swiss committee for UNICEF. “Our mission is to provide life-saving medical supplies and much-needed equipment to help them, and we are very grateful that Panalpina has once again donated the transportation of the goods.”

The Republic of South Sudan only gained its independence from Sudan in 2011, yet its people are suffering from ongoing problems, with catastrophic results. Decades of guerilla warfare that began in the 1980s, resulted in the deaths of more than 1.5 million people, and a fragile peace was disrupted again in 2013 when civil war broke out. Warfare has led to the decimation of hospitals, clinics and schools, leading to the loss of health provision, social care and education. A lack of safe drinking water and inadequate sanitation has led to widespread disease, and famine affects approximately half the population. Malaria, cholera, diarrhea and pneumonia are prevalent, and one in ten children dies before reaching the age of five.

For the flight chartered and donated by Panalpina, UNICEF gathered nearly 80 tons of relief aid, including tents and tarpaulins for emergency shelters, mobile water tanks and pumps, as well as water purification tablets. UNICEF drills boreholes for water to be brought to the surface by the mobile pumps, and the water is then treated with purification tablets to make it safe to drink. The supply cargo also included medication and medical supplies, as well as recreation kits such as balls and toys, to help children live as normal a life as possible in spite of the country’s social problems.

The flight took off from Liège (Belgium) in the afternoon of December 15, and arrived in Entebbe (Uganda) in the early hours of December 16. For logistical reasons, it was decided to fly into Uganda from where the cargo is now being transported by trucks to South Sudan.

“This is the fifth time that Panalpina has partnered with UNICEF and donated a relief flight to address a crisis in Africa. We are doing this instead of making gifts to customers and employees before Christmas. The goal remains the same: to bring some respite to those who are less fortunate than us, especially children,” says Panalpina’s CEO, Stefan Karlen.

Last year, Panalpina flew much-needed relief goods to Chad, where malnutrition and natural disasters had led to a health emergency. In 2015, Panalpina supplied a charter flight to Burundi, where a recurring crisis and violence took a heavy toll on society. In 2014, Panalpina supported the fight against Ebola by flying life-saving humanitarian aid to Sierra Leone. In 2013, Panalpina’s first relief flight for UNICEF took goods to the Central African Republic.

About Panalpina

The Panalpina Group is one of the world's leading providers of supply chain solutions. The company combines its core products of Air Freight, Ocean Freight, as well as Logistics and Manufacturing to deliver globally integrated, tailor-made end-to-end solutions for eleven core industries. Drawing on in-depth industry know-how and customized IT systems, Panalpina manages the needs of its customers' supply chains, no matter how demanding they might be. Energy and Project Solutions is a specialized service for the energy and capital projects sector. The Panalpina Group operates a global network with some 500 offices in more than 70 countries, and it works with partner companies in another 100 countries. Panalpina employs approximately 14,500 people worldwide who deliver a comprehensive service to the highest quality standards – wherever and whenever.

Related / News

For the fourth consecutive year, UNICEF and Panalpina have joined forces to fly relief goods to an African country where population movements, food insecurity, malnutrition and natural disasters have led to a health emergency and precarious humanitarian situation. In the morning hours, a Panalpina chartered cargo aircraft landed in Chad with more than 80 tons of life-saving goods on board.

For the third consecutive year, UNICEF and Panalpina have joined forces to fly much-needed relief goods to an African country where a recurring crisis is taking a heavy toll on society and its weakest members: children. In the morning hours, a Panalpina chartered cargo aircraft landed in Burundi with 70 tons of primary medical care goods on board.

Same as last year, Panalpina assisted UNICEF by flying relief aid to Africa to help children in South Sudan, where the humanitarian needs after years of conflict remain massive. A Panalpina chartered cargo aircraft landed last night in neighboring Uganda, carrying nearly 70 tons of supplies. The supplies will be trucked to South Sudan and distributed across the country as the dry season begins.

Kenny is one of many children UNICEF and Panalpina had in mind when they flew 70 tons of vital medicines to Burundi in November of last year. Thanks to the joint action, Kenny was able to receive free medication and quickly recover when he became ill. Watch the behind the scenes slideshow of our relief flight to find out more on how the delivery of relief goods is making a difference in Burundi.

Panalpina is assisting UNICEF for the sixth time by flying relief aid to Africa. The following report was written by journalist Peter Martell earlier this year and shows how getting aid to the people who need it most requires extreme efforts. The report also impressively illustrates how every ton of relief goods makes a big difference to thousands of people who often have not had aid for years.